More →]]> Once again I was drifting through Etsy and fell for Carolina Benoit’s line inspired by fashion history and romantic influences made for the hopeless romantic.

Carolina Benoit offers quality well constructed women’s wear made from local high quality materials. She loves to offer women designer pieces at affordable prices. I asked Carolina three questions…

What is the inspiration for your spring line?

The inspiration for my spring line was a character, a traveler and an explorer. Someone who isn’t afraid to take her bags and go to new places and meet new people. I tried to express this through the flowy fabrics, and the summery prints.

Photographer: Jackie Segedin www.threebrooklyn.com
Model: Juliana Martinez
Make-up: Adel Berman

When I’m traveling, being ready for any occasion or weather is a must. What do you think is the most versatile piece of clothing in your collection?

I think the most versatile piece of clothing in my collection is the dalia print dress (or top if you are not a dress type of girl) This dress is very easy to dress down with a denim jacket and flat sandals. You can dress it up with a nice statement necklace high heels and nice makeup. The best thing about this dress is that you can easily toss it in you bag and it never wrinkles!

Photographer: Jackie Segedin www.threebrooklyn.com
Model: Juliana Martinez
Make-up: Adel Berman

Oh, that top is on my wish list for sure! I’ve have a bit of a belt obsession, so I’d wear it with your Lola belt. (Pictured below)

I agree I’m such a belt person too! The Lola belt is actually my favorite piece from my collection!

Photographer: Jackie Segedin-www.threebrooklyn.com

Your spring line is beautiful. What can we expect from you this fall?

For fall I’m focusing on a queen bee type of character, very feminine silhouettes inspired by Art Deco. Expect a lot of custom made prints and an expansion on our leather goods line. Our aesthetic always being full of colors and special silhouettes, and a lot of bare backs.

Carolina is also offering my readers 20% off any purchase from www.carolinabenoitshop.com. Use the code DOTTIEQ at checkout now through June 20, 2013.

Shop: www.carolinabenoitshop.com

All photos provided by Carolina Benoit

Photographer: Jackie Segedin www.threebrooklyn.com
Model: Juliana Martinez
Make-up: Adel Berman

~ The End ~

More →]]> Last Saturday was beautiful, so the girls and I decided to take a trip to Tower Grove Park to check out the Farmers Market. I grabbed my new chevron tote (handmade by the lovely Amanda G of The Bewildered Bobbin) and set out to find some locally grown oddities. After running into some friends and playing in the fountain, we discovered our new favorite market booth…

Tenth Life Cat Rescue, an organization that saves stray cats and kittens in the St. Louis area, prioritizing those with special needs, was crawling with kittens. (Sorry I have no photos, as I was too busy playing with a tiny sparkly string.)

Holy Crepe, a mobile creperie, was our next stop. Their Blackberry Mint Lemonade had just the right amount of tartness. Although this food truck is all over St. Louis, I sometimes have a difficult time putting down my yarn and catching up with them, so I’m hoping to recreate this delicious drink at home. Here’s my plan:

Blackberry Mint Lemonade

Blackberries (about a cup)
2/3 cup Sugar
2/3 cup Water
Fresh Mint (about a handfull)
1 cup of Lemon Juice
4 cups of Cold Water

1. Heat and stir sugar and water in a sauce pan until the sugar is completely dissolved to make a simple syrup.

2. Add blackberries and mint to the syrup and mash them.

3. Mix the blackberry mint syrup and lemon juice in a pitcher and add four cups of cold water.

4. Strain and enjoy over ice with or without the alcohol of your choice.

We left the Tower Grove Farmers Market with a bunch of three giant red green onions. That night we ate my newest favorite: tortilla pizzas. They’re easy, great for serving a crowd exactly what they want, and oh so tasty.

Tortilla Pizza

One Tortilla per Person
About a Tbsp of Sauce per Pizza (I like marinara or pesto.)
Cheese (mozzarella, feta, Parmesan…whatever you like)
Your Favorite Toppings (I used red and yellow peppers and my giant onions.)

1. Spread 1 Tbsp of sauce on a tortilla.

2. Sprinkle with cheese.

3. Add toppings

4. Place on a hot grill or in the oven or toaster oven at 400° until the cheese melts and the tortilla looks crispy (about 5-10 minutes).

5. Let cool for a few minutes before eating.

After the market, we made a quick stop at Upcycle Exchange. That night I crocheted this cozy, tweed-style infinity scarf with a soft ball of yarn I found that day… great way to end a lazy Saturday.

Tower Grove Park - www.tgmarket.org

Tower Grove Farmers Market - www.tgmarket.org

The Bewildered Bobbin - www.TheBewilderedBobbin.etsy.com

Tenth Life Cat Rescue - www.tenthlifecats.org

Holy Crepe - twitter.com/HolyCrepeSTL

Upcycle Exchange - www.upxchange.com

~ The End ~

More →]]> A few months ago as I was getting lost in the wonderful world of Etsy, I stumbled across Cut & Tear: a London based shop full of handmade, unique paper dolls, cute and original cloth dolls and plenty more quirky upcycled goods. At first sight I knew Cut & Tear’s paper doll bookmarks would make awesome companions for book club ladies, and I wanted to know more about them.

Cut & Tear’s creator, Kate, and I started chatting and she agreed to be the first in my ‘Three Questions’ blog series, so here we go…

What lead you to develop your paper doll series?

These dollies came into existence by chance. I actually dreamt of the dolls’ shape and sketched it out in the morning. The idea was that they would be a little bit odd, but that they would also represent real women and not Barbies. I thought that it would be fun to draw underwear or trendy swimsuits as an unexpected surprise. And so was the first doll born!

EMILY Bookmark by Cut & Tear

Your dolls’ unique personalities definitely caught my attention. Is there one doll you consider your favorite?

Some of the looks and personalities of my dolls are loosely based on my friends, while others are just funky characters. What they have in common is their body shape. They are all real women, no Barbies, that was the idea from the start. 
I do not have a favourite doll as such but the very first one – Adela – is significant for me. I also always enjoy the doll I am currently working on, as she provides new creative possibilities.

ADELA bookmark by Cut & Tear

What’s next for Cut & Tear?

It really depends on my time. I am an Art Teacher and my Etsy shop is just a passion of mine. I am currently working on articulated swimmer dolls and I would love to make some more soft fabric dolls, the designs are finished, now just the time to make them…

SERAFINA 5 One of a Kind Collectable by Cut & Tear

Cut & Tear is currently offering a giveaway ending on 15th May ~ enter to win Ollie Owl on Cut & Tear’s blog.

Ollie the Owl by Cut & Tear

Shop Cut & Tear @ CUTandTEAR.Etsy.com

Cut & Tear Blog: cutandtear.blogspot.de

~ The End ~

More →]]> Cee Cee Baublite and I will be sharing a booth again at the Green With Indie Craft Show on March 9, so I paid a visit to my favorite materials market, The Upcycle Exchange, to stock up on eco friendly supplies to make infinity scarves, cowls and scarf necklaces. Upcycle Exchange offers the St. Louis creative community post-consumer art and craft supplies. It’s always stocked with fun bits of fabric; vintage patterns, wallpapers and books; buttons galore; and just about anything that will get you in the mood to create. (It’s easy to get carried away though. On my first visit, I purchased about a half pound of dice…still trying to figure out what to make with those…)

This week I found these cool yarn samples and immediately fell for their bright colors and varied texture. If all goes as planned this weekend, I’ll be upcycling these old yarn samples into one of a kind stackable bracelets.

Cool Yarn Samples ~ Future Bracelets

Stop by Green with Indie to check them out on March 9! Here’s more info:

When:  Saturday – March 9, 2012 from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Where: Webster University’s Grant Gym located in the lower level of the University Center at 175 Edgar Road, Webster Groves, MO 63119

What:  What is Green with Indie? It’s an eco-friendly indie art & craft show organized by the St. Louis Craft Mafia.  It is free to attend!  This is one of the few eco-friendly indie craft fairs in the STL area – we will feature many local artists, vintage treasures, awesome make-and-take projects, and more. Everything is earth-friendly, salvaged, upcycled, recycled, home grown, home made, revamped, refurbished, and 100% unique.

What does green mean to us? Green means using your resources wisely – and crafters never waste! Every scrap is used and reused – there’s nothing more earth-friendly than creativity! We are passionate about using local resources and putting our money back into our local economy. Our goal is to help educate and inform people of all ages about the benefits of green, organic, and eco-friendly products and services.

More →]]> I’ll admit it – I am awful at spelling. It’s impossible for me to recall the number of times I’ve “defiantly” agreed to help a friend or added “beagles and cream cheese” to my grocery list. That’s why designing the graphics for SATE’s newest production – Eleemosynary – left me just a bit terrified.Eleemosynary is Lee Blessing’s story of three generations of women struggling to define themselves as individuals and as part of a family unit. Echo, the youngest generation, tries to force a connection between her mother and grandmother by competing in the National Spelling Bee. The words intended to bring them together also fill the self-created space between them.

That space and those words set the tone for our concept of the graphics for this piece.

I had the pleasure of sitting around the table at the Slightly Askew Theatre Ensemble’s first rehearsal several weeks ago and can’t wait to see what Madeleine Steinau (Echo), Margeau Baue Steinau (Dorothea), Rachel Tibbetts (Artemis) and director Ellie Schwetye do with this highly emotional production.

When:
November 7-17 at 8:00PM
Wednesdays through Saturdays

Where:
The Chapel;
238 Alexander Drive
St. Louis, MO 63105

How:
Tickets can be purchased with cash, check or at Brown Paper Tickets.

Who:
Slightly Askew Theatre Ensemble (SATE) is an ensemble-based theatre company comprised of artists from varying disciplines devoted to movement training, the telling of stories through an exploration of words, movement, and sound, educational outreach, and the creation and development of new theatrical works and the revisiting of established works as an ensemble.

Please call (314) 827-5760, email tickets@slightlyoff.org or visit the SATE website at  slightlyoff.org for more information.

More →]]> I’m so excited to be sharing a booth with one of my best friends, CeeCee Baublite, at the 2012 Garden Heights Art Walk on October 13! CeeCee’s printmaking (both linocut and screen prints) are gorgeous and available on tote bags and clothing. She also recently started creating super cute bug jewelry.

Check out her work: catherinebaublite.etsy.com

More Art Walk Info:
gardenheights.com/artwalk_2012.html

When:
Saturday, October 13, 2012
10:00am – 4:00pm

Where:
Garden Heights Nursery
1605 South Big Bend Blvd
Richmond Heights, Missouri 63117

I hope to see you there!

More →]]>