I've been spending some time on Etsy these days since I set up my Vintage shop there.  They have quite a fun little creative community and if you are a creative sort, I highly recommend you check it out.

You can keep track of items you like and make collections of similar types of things: Home decor, clothing, wall art, jewelry, etc.  You can also make little creative collections called treasuries.  This is where I've been spending a great deal (too much) time lately.  I've found it addictive.  I collect related items and arrange them in a 4 X 4 grid of thumbnails for others to view and comment on.  The items can be related by just about any theme you could think of, and I like to use a limited color pallet as well.  Here is one of my most recent:


If you want to see more of them, just make sure you comment to let me know you stopped by!

 https://www.etsy.com/people/BlackWatchJen/treasury?ref=pr_treasury_more

And of course stop by the shop to browse and buy.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/FripperyFrocks

Frippery Frocks Rocks

So I've been trying to sell off some of the massive collection of clothing we have at the studio.  We are literally bursting at the seams!

I admit over the years the studio has been my excuse to shop for bargains. It didn't matter what size something was, if it was a good deal on a quality item, I bought it "for the studio". Now  some of these items have been worn on occasion by a model or two at a photo shoot or workshop, but most of them just sit and take up space.

I have two online shops set up now:
Frippery Frocks on Etsy is where the vintage items are being listed,
2Die4Duds is my eBay store with more contemporary fashions.

I have slowly been putting up items but there is so much more good stuff waiting to be listed!

Readers of my blog get a coupon for free shipping at Frippery Frocks type in FROCKSROCKS at checkout for the coupon to be applied.

These things should be worn and enjoyed, not just wasting away in my studio wardrobe closet.  Happy shopping...

And the winner is... Fears' Confections!!

I was a lucky winner this week for a facebook giveaway from a new bakery called Fears' Confections.  I guess they've had a mail order/Internet presence for a while and this week open their brick and mortar shop on E. 185th St in Cleveland.

I'm sure they weren't expecting a blog post about the prize brownies, and most certainly didn't expect an ex-baker to be the one critiquing them.  You see, I am Jennifer of "Sweet Artistry by Jennifer" fame.  About 8 years ago I was the go-to home baker for wedding cakes in Cleveland and baked everything from scratch.

My prize arrived this afternoon in an inconspicuous box.  Inside was a nicely packaged bakery box with red and black ribbons adorning it and the sticker label "Fears' Confections: sweets to die for".  My kids were excited about the free brownies but a little leery about the name of the bakery, and even more worried when they saw the catch phrase on the label.  I guess what some people find clever, others find a little creepy.

After dinner, we opened the bakery box, and I cut each of our three prize brownies into four chunks for us each to sample.  The three flavors we received were:

1. Lavender Blondie with citrus glaze
2. Afterburner
3. Dark Orange

My review-
1. Lavender Blondie- a very mild flavor, a bit too mild for my taste buds.  I like my blondies to have a little more buttery toffee or caramel flavor.  This one tastes a little more like shortbread.  The citrus glaze was very nice, and added a little more complexity to the flavor.  What I didn't taste was the lavender.
2. Afterburner- Tabasco and chocolate: a very bold and daring flavor for any bakery to attempt.  Although I'm not a big tabasco person, I gave it a try, and was pleasantly surprised.  Other than a bit heavy-handedness with the liquid smoke, I found them reminiscent of Mexican Hot Chocolate with a much stronger cinnamon flavor than usual.
3. Dark Orange- I've always been a fan of the combination of chocolate and orange, especially dark chocolate.  This brownie did not disappoint.  It was the thickest of our three samples, and was very dark in color and fudgy in the middle.  It was topped with orange zest, which I might have even tried a little zest on top after baking for an even prettier garnish.  There was a perfect balance of orange and dark chocolate making this one my favorite of our three prize brownies.

All in all, a tasty trio of treats.  Thanks, Cassandra and Jeremy Fear, and good luck with the new shop!

Hot Bird Music

Hot Bird Music is Christopher Patton.  A very insightful young man I had the pleasure to photograph last week.  I truly believe that any musician in the Cleveland area would do very well seeking his guidance for tips on self promotion, and music production.

Here are just a few images from our shoot.

He asked about colorful backgrounds, and so I pulled out the corrugated polycarbonate sheets and shot colored gels behind them with a black backdrop behind that.  One of my favorite effects for a background.

A special thank you to Hugh Wonderly, my assistant for the day, without whom this set up would have been extremely difficult.  :o)

2013 Parade the Circle- Part 4

...and the last batch of photos from this years parade:

Some of the participants were just plain cute...

some were comical

Others were downright freaky...

I had told my son Gryffon there wouldn't be politicians in this parade.  I had to apologize for being incorrect...

This women appears to be around my mother's age- you go, girl!

The end...  I have to make sure I am free to see it next year... it makes my heart sing!

2013 Parade the Circle- Part 3

More photos from the parade- lots of dragons!:

...and a giant pinata...

These kids sang the silliest song about food having a party in their tummies...

I love her grin!

2013 Parade the Circle- Part 2

More photos from the parade:

I couldn't even stand on stilts let alone pose like this on one leg!