A great weekend in Cabbagetown

This past Friday, Saturday, & Sunday (Sept.6-8) was the Cabbagetown Art & Crafts Show, and it was FABULOUS!

Aside from a little hiccup of some rain (well, lots of rain really) on Saturday, a little help from my spare canopy walls kept my Li'l Art pieces dry, and my spirits were high all weekend!
We had lots of visitors, and lots of customers!

As per usual, my booth was at least a little different from the last event, getting a little better with each one, and I was gratified to hear from several people how bright and cheery they thought my display was!

Here's a little of what we had in store...

"button blooms" teardrop earrings
polymer clay & sterling silver

"Sunflower"

polymer clay

10"x10" frame

"Cascade"
polymer clay & art wire pendant on sterling silver chain



Want to throw out a HUGE thank you, hugs & kisses to my husband and my mom, without whom I could not have done this event.  <3 p="">- Karen

Featured in NOW Magazine!

What a nice way to start off the weekend!  I just got a call from Sarah Dougall, owner of Made You Look on Queen W in Toronto...three of my Li'l Bouquet pendants have just been featured in NOW Magazine!

#2, that's me :D

read the article here:  http://www.nowtoronto.com/lifestyle/story.cfm?content=193646

-

Karen Pasieka
Subtle Details


You can purchase our Li'l Bouquet jewellery at
Made You Look
1338 Queen Street W, Toronto
www.madeyoulook.ca

For a full list of retail locations and sales events, please visit www.subtledetails.ca
and don't forget to take a peek at our Etsy shop!  www.subtledetails.etsy.com

"ABC"

It was time to make another one...for my littlest one, Lucas.  Well, it was time some 12 months ago, as my baby is now a whole year old!  Where did the time go?

So after months of attempts, a couple interludes in the form of a wedding show & craft show, I did finally get this one done, only to change my mind & keep it for display & sale, rather than hang on my son's wall!  Does this sound mean?  On the surface maybe, but really it's just the product of my fussiness.  While I love this one, it's not how I envisioned setting the tone for my little Luke's room.  So another is underway, with subtle changes and a slightly less broad colour range, lol!  I even have the accompanying "Luke" that matches this one (sorry, no photos as yet) that will also be added to my samples for sale.  As I type this I am gazing anxiously over my new balls of clay and 1.5" squares on which to base his very own ABC art. 

Along the way, I also made this little piece, "Logan"
Sadly, in my haste to complete it on short notice for my customer, I forgot to name and sign it (a little detail that just crossed my mind last night)...and I didn't manage to get a photo of it in it's frame...perhaps I can persuade it's new owner to take a picture of it on his wall :) 

Li'l Newlyweds Mandy & Ashley!

Congratulations Mandy & Ashley, married just a few weeks ago!

This fun couple purchased their custom wedding cake toppers off of our Etsy store, www.subtledetails.etsy.com

The groom is a photographer and his bride wanted their toppers to reflect that...having her mini-self posing for her groom's

mini-self to take her picture on their wedding day!

Thank you for choosing us to help you make your day special :)
We're looking forward to seeing the pics of your Li'l Newlyweds on your cake!

a little birdie told me... spring is here

Just two of the Li'l Art pieces you can buy from Subtle Details at the Beaches Arts & Crafts Show this weekend...

"a little birdie told me..."                     "...spring is here"


Beaches Arts & Crafts Show
Saturday June 8th & Sunday June 9th
10:00am - 6:00pm

www.beachesartsandcraftsshow.ca



we'll be there, rain or shine!

my inspiration...

Finally found the pics of the inspiration dress for my latest Li'l Newlyweds sample cake toppers:

Thanks to Randy to the Rescue, which I was watching earlier today while working on one of my Li'l Art pieces, I got the name of the designer and the dress...leading me to this...

"Sherbet" by Lazaro

stunning, stunning, stunning!

I've seen it several times, as mentioned in a previous blog post, on some of my favorite wedding shows.  So this time, when it surfaced again, I payed special attention!



Here's how it compares to "Blushing Bride (& Groom)"...bearing in mind that I was working purely by memory of this gorgeous gown at the time!

In retrospect, I don't think I did too bad eh?  :D

Want to have your gorgeous gown modeled on your very own custom wedding cake topper?

Contact me!

www.subtledetails.ca,
www.facebook.com/subtledetails,
www.subtledetails.etsy.com,
karen@subtledetails.ca

-Karen Pasieka

loving this vintage dress buy for my wedding jewellery prop

So after much on-line Etsy searching, and even some local vintage store browsing, I finally decided on buying this little '70's/'80's number from Westfirst https://www.etsy.com/shop/westfirst?ref=seller_info

It had nearly everything I was looking for, and at an affordable price...after all, I was just going to be using it as a bridal prop (for photographing & staging my booth), with the eventual goal of using it in a staged "bridal" shoot with models, bouquets, a bridal party, and of course my jewellery (will let you know how that goes, when it goes)!

Light, airy, lacy, and just a little casual...this tea-length dress was just what I was looking for to compliment my Li'l Bouquet bridal jewellery (and my hopeful spring-flower-field setting).

Thankfully, it arrived just a couple days in advance of the wedding show I did last Saturday, The Wedding Co Spring Show at The Drake Hotel.  I think it dressed up (no pun intended) my table quite nicely.  After some adjustment, deconstructing, and accessorizing, this was the result:

A subtle transformation with big impact, IMO!
Thanks so much to Tara from Westfirst, who was so helpful with all my many questions prior to making the decision to buy, I'm so glad I did!

BTW, the necklace featured in this picture is "Dahlia Dream", a stunning 18" composite sterling silver, Swarovski pearl, and Li'l Bouquet "Dahlia" brooch with Swarovski rhinestone centre.
price:  $350

purchase here on Etsy:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/130839911/polymer-clay-pearl-bridal-necklace-with?ref=shop_home_active

Blushing Bride....& Groom

It's been a while since I've made myself a new sample Li'l Newlyweds wedding cake topper bride & groom, so with the event of The Wedding Co Spring Show coming up this Saturday, April 27th at the Drake Hotel in Toronto, I thought it a good time to show you what I can do!

I love making sample toppers, for one, it helps me sell my craft, but secondly, I have the freedom to create whatever my heart desires!  The nature of the product is custom.  I design a little bride & groom to match all the details from the soon-to-be-wed.  I look at photos of the bride & groom, her gown, his tux, their flowers...and sometimes even what they wish they could wear, if their fiance would allow it!  Those are fun too, the hockey & soccer jerseys, the baseball caps, and even superhero emblems!  But all the details are predetermined by someone other than me.  When I make samples, they're all my own!  Everything I've ever wanted to try, I can do it with these samples.

So lately, thinking about my upcoming wedding show, and after having spent considerable time watching some of my favorite "reality" tv programs (namely Say Yes to the Dress (Kleinfeld in NY), Keesha's Perfect Dress, and lately, Something Borrowed, Something New), I was inspired by a dress I've seen on a few occasions.  Working from memory, this is the result:

I decided to try adding some detail to the veil:

...and I had oh so much fun making the bridal bouquet!:

I decided to feature peonies with roses, stephanotis, and berries.

As is (almost) always, the bride is the real showpiece!
Totally in love with this design!  And this is why I love what I do :D

Congratulations Jenny & Alex! 13-03-30

Congratulations to our latest Newlyweds Jenny & Alex who tied the knot on Saturday, March 30, 2013!
Here's their "Li'l" version...

seen also with their dog Nova, a greyhound who was going to take part in the ceremony.

One of my favorite details from this design was the back of Jenny's gown.  I was excited to take on the challenge of reproducing this...













and here's how I did...

It was a fun process trying to figure out how to create the illusion of a translucent back.  I ended up building on top of the gown base with a very fine patch of flesh tone Fimo, followed by a similar patch of translucent Fimo.  Then to blend the edges with the rest of the gown and train (and match the gown details), I added the lace-like flower details.  Then I finished off the design with the buttons down the back and the floral lace detail on the sleeves.

Here's a close-up of Jenny's Bouquet...

Thank you Jenny & Alex for ordering your Li'l Newlyweds custom wedding cake toppers with us.  We hope you love them and cherish them as a memorable keepsake from your special day.  Congratulations again, wishing you a long and happy life together filled with love!

Li'l Newlyweds - rePresented

Always in need of good photos of my booth and/or display, and finding myself at a loss for some good images of my custom cake toppers (display, for I'm very good at documenting each and every pair of custom ordered bride & grooms), I finally had a chance to set the stage for some new promotional pictures.
Here's how it went :D

Each and every time I do an event, I'm always reworking my presentation to some degree, usually because each new site carries with it it's own special needs.  Over the years I have tried many different things, and I think I've come full circle...an all white all white backdrop.  The only exception would be that there has to be something BIG that grabs my customer's attention, be it a bold, printed fabric with my Subtle Details sign strewn across it, or large-scale posters of my miniature works of art, or even just texture.  But I'm reminded of the reason why galleries are always painted stark white....it doesn't distract from the artwork.  It's challenging though to grab people's attention with a stark white booth.  So the mission is to find a balance between setting a neutral background so as not to distract from my work, and creating enough visual interest to welcome people into my space!
I'll get my first chance to experiment with it (again) at the Aurora Chamber Street Festival, my first scheduled event for 2013, taking place on June 2.
Hope to see you there!

New Design!

dare I say it?...

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!
ha, ha!  just in time for Valentine's Day :D

Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I'm simply thrilled with my latest design.
"Cascade" (below) is a look I have been flirting with for some time now, but not quite meeting the mark...until now.

 In fact, I've borrowed the name from a much earlier design, a once made & never repeated prototype (right).  In actuality it bears little resemblance to the original manifestation of the idea, but it encapsulates everything I wanted from the beginning in a far simpler way that better showcases the heart of my work, that is to say, the polymer clay flowers.
One down (and sold, much to my delight), another heading for the oven, and a third in production...you can expect to see plenty more of this one!