Nominate YOUR favorite crafter!!

Happy Father's Day to all you fathers, dads, daddys, and priests!

Over in my end of the world, we celebrated the day with good food and a day by the pool.

Unfortunately, the chicken, salmon, and ribs were eaten way too fast to get any photos! But here are some of a couple of family friends hanging out with Charlie (my golden!).

And of course... I didn't even get a shot of my own dad (he hates taking photos)

Well, after a good day of pigging out and soaking up some sun... it's time to get down to some business. 

July is approaching and I'm on the look out for the next Kristina-Nicole Artist of the Month!!!

Leave a comment below to nominate a crafter (or yourself, teehee) who you think does an amazing job at what they do & a link to their blog/etsy/facebook. 

Can't wait to see who's up for a nomination!

:D

xo,

Kristina-Nicole

When you make your own invitations..

Hi blogland!! I've missed you!

Geesh, graduations, recitals, going-away parties, and planning your own wedding can be an excuse not to write, yes?

I hope so! My week has been filled with so much! My best friend of 10 years graduated (YAY!!), another had her college senior recital and is soon off to the Metropolitan School of Music (an amazing Opera singer), and our sweet Missouri friend is home-bound after 2 years of living in California.

My own wedding is fast approaching - 4 MONTHS to go! So many things to do & it seems that the clock is going at twice the speed.

As a wedding vendor, it seems that when it comes to your own wedding - you just can't make a decision. My invitations are, well, daunting. I say that, because I want them PERFECT! (this is truly the only part of my wedding that I am a bridezilla). I make 3D invitations for a living, and other wedding decor as you know. And since I am a vendor, I think in my head that others are looking to me to have the best work possible - and I agree. But when I have to pick out my own papers - I cant seem to make a decision. I "went through" 4 different papers before I decided that paper just wont do. Yep, I'm not going to use paper for my wedding invitations. Any guesses on what I am using??

FABRIC!

I went down to the LA Fashion District to see what I could find.

This ornate fabric is a gold taffeta with gold embroidered flourishes & vines. There are linen flowers sewn on there - and only sewn in the middle, which makes them leap off the backdrop!

And here are some photos of parts of the assembly line I've got going.

cut...cut...diecut...ink. Repeat. 

yes, those are Prima flowers!! :D

and this is a box of 3,600 self adhesive antique gold rhinestones. And every one of them will be used!

Welp, I'll get on here as often as I can, but as you can see I've got a bunch to do!! (1 custom order Key West minibook and two very eager March 2011 brides to make invitations for on top of it!)

Miss you all,

xo,

Kristina-Nicole

Wedding Wire - Recent Reviews...

Kristina-Nicole is on Wedding Wire. A great website for brides to review & meet wedding vendors.

Here is a recent endorsement:

"Kristina is a delight to work with. She is professional and very helpful. She listens to what the bride wants and does her best to execute every request down to the last detail. Kristina is a breath of fresh air when it comes to wedding invitations. She hand crafts every single invitation herself. Not very many professionals are that dedicated. Most invitation vendors have a book of styles to choose from. Kristina actually sits you down and asks you what you want for your special day. If Kristina is good enough for my wedding and expectations, she's an exceptional choice for you!"  - Desiray T.

THANK YOU Desiray (bridal client & owner of Belle of the Ball).

Desiray is asking Kristina-Nicole to create her wedding invitations, save the dates, thank you cards, escort cards, & table numbers. And we're SO excited to be working with her!

To see more reviews of Kristina-Nicole @  WeddingWire.com click HERE!

xo,

{Artist of the Month} Melissa Clayton

Every month we feature an "Artist of the Month": one special person who always inspires, gives that warm-fuzzy feeling, and insane desire to shop - all through their art!

This month, Kristina-Nicole is pleased to announce Melissa Clayton as the Artist of the Month! Congrats Melissa!!

For each artist, we interview them with questions about their business, marketing, art, and who they are as a person. They always inspire both the shopper & the seller! Let's dive in:

{Q&A} 

1. Tell us a little about yourself {non-business-ey}. 

My name is Melissa and I am the photographer behind Isela Maria Photography. I was born and raised in California. At the age of 22 I moved to Eastern Ohio to finish my degree, upon graduation I got married and moved to Western Michigan, a year later I moved with my husband to Boston - 4 states in 4 years! I love each of the states I have lived in and consider them all to be home, but my heart will always be at the base of the mountains in Southern California.  I'm inspired by just about everything I see, and I often times wish my eyes were cameras so I could truly document everything I see. 

2 . Tell us about your business & how long have you been doing this? 

My business is in its infancy. I started blogging and sharing my images about a year ago and in January I started to sell prints. I've been taking pictures since my sophomore year in college. I took a black and white film class to fulfill my art requirement and I fell completely in love with the art of photography. Though I had always loved photographs being able to create my own images, my own art, really captured my heart and I've never looked back. Now I shoot mainly in digital since I no longer have access to a darkroom and film even without a darkroom is very costly, but I prefer black and white film and probably always will. There is a timelessness and romance to film you simply cannot achieve with digital photography; it is that timelessness and romance that captured my heart.

Cali197, black & white

3.Whatʼs your business name & how did you get your name? 

The name of my business is Isela Maria Photography. The name comes from two of my biggest inspirations and role models. Isela was my late mother's middle name and Maria is for Mary the Mother of God. My mother used to shy away from the camera and as a result we have very few pictures of her, the lack of pictures has made me want to document my life for my loved ones and future children. And Mary, well she's the mother of God! I am a devout Catholic woman and I have a special devotion to Mary. For me Mary is the complete woman and I strive to emulate her in all that I do.

4. Walk us through a normal work day. What is your favorite part of your creative process? What is your least favorite part of your creative process? 

Usually the first thing I do on a work day is decide what it is I want to post. If it's images I've yet to edit I edit and I as I edit I think of what it is I want my images to say. I usually spend sometime brainstorming the narrative for my work and when all of that is done I create that day's post (if I know I'm going to have a particularly busy week or I'm going to be traveling I prepare my posts ahead of time). My favorite part of the creative process is taking pictures, my least favorite is editing. I do love to edit but when I've got a lot to edit all at once I tend to get overwhelmed.

Lake 22

5. How do you promote your shop? 

Last summer I started to post my recent work on my blog at the request of my sister, she lives in California and wanted to be kept up to date on my images. I started to get really great feed back from family and friends so I then began posting pictures and links on my personal facebook page. In January I started a facebook fan page, a smugmug gallery, and a business oriented twitter account. I also just recently switched my blog from blogger to tumblr. Whenever I create a new post I post the link to my personal facebook page, my facebook fan page, my personal twitter and my business twitter. 

6. Do you have a selling secret youʼd like to share? 

I'm still in the beginning stages of selling my work, I'm so new at it I don't have any secrets just yet.

flight187, black & white

7. What is one craft or art style that you have yet to try, but are interested in? 

This is completely cheesy but something I've always always wanted to do, I even considered getting my degree in it for a while. I've always wanted to learn how to sketch, design, and sew my own clothes. As a girl I really wanted to be a fashion designer. I used to cut up my doll clothes to make them more appealing and I used to do the same thing to my own clothes. Anyhow its something I'd really love to do, I have my own style that I don't often find in stores.

8.What do you do for fun {when youʼre not creating}? 

I love spending time with my husband and now that we're in a new city I love exploring the city with him or by myself. When we lived in Michigan my list of things I enjoyed was much different from my list of things here, there is so much more to see and do in Boston so my interests are expanding. In Michigan I love to get in the car and drive through the country, in Boston I love to take the T (the subway) into the city and people watch. My new favorite thing is to just wander around the city by myself. I find it difficult to get lost here so when I take the T into the city to meet my husband for dinner I'll leave a few hours early and just wander. There is so much history here I feel like I'm walking through a history book.

9. What is a motto that you live by? 

This reminds me of when I was a little girl and my mom used to the read "The Little Engine That Could" to me, I doubted myself often and to this day still do. She used to tell me whenever I felt unsure of myself to repeat over and over again "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can". That phrase, the book, and the encouragement and love of my mother have gotten me through the really tough and challenging times in my life. As corny as this is I still repeat it to myself; apparently my mother knew me better than I knew myself. So I guess if a children's book can be a motto that would be mine. 

10. Where can we find you?

My Blog::Tumblr

Photo Gallery:: Smug Mug

Twitter 

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Melissa is the June 2010 Artist of the Month & will be featured here onKristina-Nicole during this time! I encourage  all of you blogland citizens to visit the links provided! 

If you would like to nominate someone as Kristina-Nicole's artist of the month, just send me an email with "Artist of the Month" in the subject line.

xo,