knitcole

Where have you been?

Perhaps you have been asking that very question about me...well...I've been crafting away like a crazy person! On top of being under the weather for the past three or four days I have been diligently trying to get everything ready to open my Etsy store. I'm almost ready, just one more day or two and it should be up and running!

Here's a sneak peek of some of the things to sell.

Aprons - I'm going to be selling aprons and here is my favorite so far. 

Beanies and Booties - For the little babes in your life.

Bouquets - I'm not quite sure how this one is going to work yet but I'm definitely going to try to give them a whirl!
 
Nicole

Painting, painting, painting!

A couple of weeks ago I was asked to create a piece of art for a benefit show for India that's happening tonight. I was apprehensive about starting a new project but excited to create something bright and fun. When I think of India I think of gorgeous jewel tones and my favorite print, paisley. I'm not ready to reveal it just yet, maybe tomorrow after the show, but here's a sneak peek!

It's the brightest thing I think I've EVER created! See you all tonight!

Nicole

Bathing Suits and Jeans

Lately I've been having some of those insecure days. I know you ladies know what I am talking about, those days where you just don't feel very good about yourself. I'm not sure if this happens to men but I know that it definitely happens to women. There are just those days when you feel fat, or you're unhappy with a certain body part and it just brings down your whole day...or maybe even two.

I'm pretty sure I know why this all started, it's my quest for jeans and a bathing suit. I've been looking for a pair of jeans that fit decently, not even perfectly! I have tried so many types of jeans and I just have such a hard time finding ones that fit my body. I really wanted to try the Levi Curve ID but they didn't have any of the Supreme Curve at the Levi stores and those look like the ones that would work best for me. So instead of trying to find those, or order online (which I find EXTRA frustrating when things don't fit,) I decided I would try to find some other jeans that worked for me. I headed out shopping with my friend April with low expectations, so I wouldn't end up extra frustrated or upset when things didn't work out. April buys all her favorite jeans at Urban Outfitters so I figured why not try on a pair or two since April was going to be in the dressing room anyhow. 

To my surprise...I FOUND JEANS!

I'm pretty sure these are the jeans I found at Urban. They are simple straight leg jeans and I really like them. I ended up with a dark denim and a lighter blue denim. The denim is soft and they fit great except where they are a little big in the waist but I wear a belt anyways because this is the problem I ALWAYS have with jeans. To fit my butt and thighs they are always big in the waist but these feel good and Mr. Coleman likes them too which is always a plus!

Then there is the whole bathing suit shopping thing. Every year I get extremely anxious about swimsuits and I for the past two years I haven't bought one and I haven't had the need for one. I'm not a huge water person and it makes me very uncomfortable to be so exposed. I've been looking this year at many different suits and I even tried on the Miraclesuit which I liked but I was so uncomfortable that I couldn't see spending that much money for something I won't wear. I was looking at Target just to find something that I could wear while at the pool with a couple of friends this upcoming weekend and I found a suit that I think I can manage to wear. It's cute and was only $30! I may not be able to bear it to the rest of the world but at least I can wear it under my sundress to the pool just in case!

 
I also ended up with an adorable hat to wear by the pool! It's something of a giant sun hat and it's fabulous! It's kind of like this one on Marilyn Monroe.

Overall I had a great time shopping. April and I always have a lovely time together and coming back home with things I actually really like and feeling a little bit better about having clothes that fit is priceless!

Have you found any great buys lately?

Nicole

 

Santa Barbara Minimoon!

Mr. Coleman and I took a recent trip to Santa Barbara to spend a couple days relaxing while he was on Spring Break. He definitely needed to recharge and take a breather before midterms for his Masters program and I just needed to get away for a couple of days and just breathe a little bit. We decided it would be a mini honeymoon since we didn't take one and we had such a great time! Here are some photos from our trip! All photos were taken with our iPhones using Hipstamatic or Instagram.

Day One

• A - The drive up from Long Beach. It was gorgeous once the 101 turned into the 1. 
• B - We took our beach cruisers which was probably one of the best things we did. We immediately took to our bikes and went down the beach a bit.
• C - The pier at the end of State St.
• D - The pier again.
• E - Our friends Josh and Katie live about 20 minute from downtown SB and they met us for dinner and drinks. It was so wonderful to see them and we had a lovely time with them!  

Day Two

Day two was all about our jeep wine tour. We had a great time and would definitely recommend Cloud Climbers Jeep Wine Tour if you're ever up in Santa Barbara. Ask for Ian as your guide.

• A - The view from our amazing hotel room, stay at the Hotel Oceana if you're ever in SB!
• B - Jeeps! The weather was so perfect for an open jeep tour and my hair looked AWESOME at the end of the day.
• C - Gainey Winery had some of the most amazing trees.
• D - Still at Gainey, some of the wine barrels.
• E - Lincourt vineyards. Before we headed over to Lincourt we went to an olive oil tasting at Global Gardens which was great. I made my first purchase of the day there with some lemon olive oil, passion fruit balsamic vinegar and a pomegranate glaze. So great! Then we went to Lincourt where we made our first wine purchase of the day and had a lovely lunch outdoors.
• F - Saarloos and Sons was my favorite winery and that might have to do with the fact that they do a cupcake tasting with the wine tasting! FREAKING AMAZING!!! We made our last purchase of the day here, a special wine we will most likely drink only for a special occasion.

Day Three

• A - Our last morning in SB and we decided to give our bikes another workout and we made it up a GIANT hill which is no easy feat on a beach cruiser but the view was totally worth it.
• B - WILDFLOWERS!
• C - Mr. Coleman doing what he does.
• D - Bike Ride Love!

After our last morning in SB we actually made it down to see some family and had an all around great time with them too. Playing with my cousin's sweet little dude Ethan was definitely more fun than I imagined, especially trying to take pictures of the little worm! 

If you need a little breather I highly recommend a 2 day trip to somewhere calm and relaxing, it definitely recharged our batteries.

Nicole

 

Bouquet Tutorial posted by @RocknRollBride!

Kat of Rock N' Roll Bride posted a bouquet tutorial by little ol' me on her website yesterday! It was one of the most wonderful opportunities I have had yet. Although it took a lot of work to deliver such a detailed tutorial I definitely think it was worth the hard work!

You can see the tutorial here. Go check it out, leave a comment, reblog it then make your own fabulous bouquet!

If you like what you see but you aren't crafty then let me know! Bouquets will be available soon in my Etsy store but you can always email me at nicole@knitcole.com if you are interested in your own custom made bouquet!

Nicole

Lunch Pail Pictures, @LunchPailPic

I always love when I get the chance to share about my amazing and talented friends! Today, it's Candice (Candice_) and Geoff (@geoffgiant) of Lunch Pail Pictures. I asked Candice some questions about Lunch Pail and here's what she had to say.

What is Lunch Pail Pictures?
Lunch Pail Pictures is a husband/wife team with a fresh new look on wedding cinematography. We create films with a journalistic approach because we want to show a couple's real love and who they really are behind closed doors. We want to create a film that tells the your story as you remembered it!

When did you realize that this is what you wanted to do?

I've (Candice) always known i wanted to do something with film. Its my passion and something I truly love working with. After working in the wedding industry for a few years and getting engaged both Geoff and I started looking around for a videographer for our wedding but we couldn't find anyone who fit us style wise. That's when we decided this is something we would love to do. We love Love. We love people. And we love creating something beautiful and fun with others about their love story.

How do you like working with your husband? Do you think this makes you better videographers?

No. I LOVE working with my husband! We kinda have telekinesis. Wish that worked for when I want a massage, but we're getting there! haha  But seriously, its so great being married to someone who is equally as passionate and in love with what we do. Just helps make us the ultimate team!

What's your favorite moment you've captured on film so far?

hmmm... that's a toughy. It's hard to pick favorites because we would never make a film we aren't totally into. This year we have some amazing couples we have the pleasure of working with and we just couldnt be more excited to share them with you too!

Where do you want to go with Lunch Pail Pictures?
We want to grow but still be a smaller studio. I never want to get to the size where we have to outsource editing or cant meet and connect with our couples.

What's the funniest moment you've experienced so far?
During a wedding ceremony we have the groom mic'd and one of us is listening with headphones to make sure we're recording great audio. Well one time when the couple was supposed to be praying together the bride started telling the groom how bad she had to poop! So hard to hold my laughter! But we all laughed about it after the ceremony when she asked if we heard her.

There you have it! The story of Lunch Pail Pictures! So head on over to their website, http://www.lunchpailpictures.com and show them some love! You can also find more information about Candice and Geoff and what they do. I've included a couple of videos so you can see for yourself how aweosme they are! (The second video is such a cute one of our friend Corre's proposal to our other friend Becky.) Oh, and isn't their logo just adorable?

 

 

Nicole

I've been looking everywhere for one of these!

source

I find vintage dress forms to be gorgeous! I have been looking for one for the past couple of weeks to take pictures of my aprons. I've thought over and over about how to display my aprons for photos and it seems that using a dress form would be easiest. I could use a live person to model but that would require more planning and I like to set up and take photos in my own home. My mom in law recommended I use Mr. Coleman as a model but he's just a bit too masculine to model sweet little aprons. But the first guypron I make will definitely be modeled by him! 

I know that vintage dress forms can be pretty expensive and the truth of the matter is the form most likely wouldn't work if I ever wanted to use it to make clothes for myself since most of them run a bit smaller than my measurements.

So here I am looking for the perfect dress form. Got any suggestions?

Nicole