Li'l Bouquet 2017 Catalog

2017 Catalog...

Cottage North Soapworks...and a bathroom makover.

Oh wow, I wish I could copy-paste the fragrence of this stop from my weekend adventures!

Found on Main Street in Port Dover, Ontario, Cottage North Soapworks produces all their own soaps, and carries a selection of other locally handcrafted items, including my own Li'l Bouquet jewellery, and a specially commissioned Li'l Art framed sculpture to fit with the colour pallet of their collection.

I LOVED the way they displayed my work, with "Is It Just Me, Or Are They Dancing? II" center stage just behind the sales desk, accompanied by a Li'l Bouquet "petal pouf" hydrangea necklace on the ceramic bust.

And here's the rest of the Li'l Bouquet jewellery collection in store.

In fact, the whole store is styled beautifully!  Full of soft, watery shades that remind you of the cottage, beach (which is just down the road by the way), and summer!

All those beautiful soaps, I couldn't resist picking up one myself, though oh so hard to choose!  There were "beach glass" ones that I loved (you can kind of see them on the center table, front left in the above picture), but I opted for this soft green soap with bicycle relief (as a nod to the hubby's cycling obsession!).  And isn't this just the cutest bird bath soap dish?!!


Go to Port Dover and stop into Cottage North Soapworks, a must see...and smell!

Cottage North Soapworks
359 Main Street
Port Dover, ON
1-877-742-7475
www.cottagenorthsoapworks.com

P.S.  You may notice all the paint chips.  We've had to renovate our main bath (ceiling replacement), very difficult work that my husband has taken on all by himself (much appreciated)...the upside, I get to change up the decor!  As you see, I'm thinking teal for the walls, just not sure how light or dark to go. The floor tile is the same as the beige accent wall tile.  White subway tile, esspresso vanity, and a couple beautiful prints of my husband's photography.  On the one hand, I want to go light and spa-like, then on the other I want to go dark and rich!  Thoughts?

P.P.S.  So I decided to throw this one into the mix, "Pick Me II".  I may have to keep it for my new bathroom!  Hmmmm....does this mean I have to find a new home for "Itty Bitty Kitty"?...I'll keep you posted.



Subtle Details designed and handcrafted out of polymer clay by Karen Pasieka

Our Product now in Cottage North Soapworks, Port Dover, ON!

I sent this order out just before leaving for our family vacation at the end of last month, so I'm a little late getting to this blog post.  Normally I would've just posted a pic of everything & posted it to Instagram, but I was short on time to be fussing with a massive photo shoot, so I have an assortment of pictures to show off the lot!

"button blooms" polymer clay & sterling silver necklaces

"petal pouf (hydrangea)" polymer clay pendants with sterling silver chains

"button blooms" polymer clay & sterling silver earrings in post & teardrop styles

"ranunculus" polymer clay brooches

It should be noted that, in discussion with the customer, their desired colours sounded very similar to what I saw in this product picture from their website, and so I used it as my reference for their Li'l Bouquet custom jewellery order...

 

Nearly forgot!...

They also really wanted a Li'l Art piece that complimented their jewellery order, so I made them this piece...

"Is It Just Me, Or Are They Dancing? II"

...that uses the resultant canes from the Ranunculus brooches from their order.

I think it all ties in nicely together, don't you?

Cottage North Soapworks is in Port Dover, Ontario, Canada.

www.cottagenorthsoapworks.com

Colour Story - the best of Li'l Bouquet jewellery in ...Orange!

So I started off this past weekend having a little more styling fun with a photo shoot.

I have a lot of beautiful Li'l Bouquet jewellery pieces sitting here in my studio, and I simply have to share them with you!  So while I muse over potential ramblings for their Etsy listings, I'll present to you this orange colour-themed selection...

how do I do it?...and how you can do it, take my polymer clay workshop!

I don't normally do this, tutorials that is, but many of you have questions about how I make...well, everything!

I'm not going to show you today how I make everything (that would take way too long!), but as I recently went to the effort to photograph some of my work-in-progress for a show application, I wanted to share it with you!

Some of this you may have seen me demonstrate at one of my craft shows...but for those who haven't, here's a quick overview of how I make my Dozen Roses necklace:

One of the more fun & recent designs is my Ranunculus brooch.  I'm so happy with this one, and the bonus is that I get handy-dandy canes in the cut offs that I can use to create whimsical miniature flowers for my Li'l Art designs!
 










Now, this technique is no secret, you can find how to videos on Youtube of how to make the colours blend from one to another, but I'm really pleased with the demonstrative nature of these work-in-progress photos.

Hope you enjoyed this little peek inside my work process!

- Karen Pasieka


Learn how you can do this & more in one of my 
polymer clay workshops!
The next scheduled workshop is:

Saturday, August 16th
10:00am - 4:00pm
5 hours of class instruction with a 1hr lunch break (bring your own or lunch at one of the lovely nearby restaurants)

Organized through the Town of Richmond Hill
You do not need to be a resident of Richmond Hill to register.
Register here:  https://ereg.richmondhill.ca/InternetRegistration/Start/Start.asp
Enter course code:   458466 

the creative process...

so I had an idea that I've been wanting to try out since I created this:

"waiting"

...notice the little pink flowers, ranunculus.

this modern looking flower was abundant at last year's The Wedding Co. Spring Show...and I simply fell in love with it!

So I wanted to take it further.  I thought, how about a brooch?

Ok, well, I'm sharing with you the process.

You see, it's one thing to make a miniature version, it's another to bring the design up to a larger scale.

So here are the results...

...hmmmm, no

...definitely not

...not quite, but better

...aha!  that's it!

from start to finish....

They're each about 1" in diameter.  I'll be adding brooch backs to them shortly, up for sale soon after that :-)  What comes next?  I'd like to try making them bigger.

Oh, and the added bonus?...

Oh yeah!

Simply in love with this piece, entitled

"is it just me, or are they dancing?"

Yes, that's right, those tiny little "radiant orchid" (this spring's it colour according to Pantone) coloured flowers, and the even tinier white flowers were made from the almost accidental canes that came out of my large-scale ranunculus brooches!

You can expect more Li'l Art pieces like this coming your way soon :D!

in good company with Dickens and Shakespeare

finally got a few shots of one of my favorite pieces, Li'l Bouquet "cascade" bib necklace...

(along with Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, and Shakespeare's King Lear & Macbeth, my personal favorite!)

looking at the pictures now I'm thinking of a few tweaks I'd like to make to the styling...perhaps later :-)

birthday Li'l Bouquet

Whipped up this Li'l Bouquet necklace for my friend's daughter's 4th birthday.  Purple is her favorite I am told, but I simply couldn't decide on any particular colour so I used them all!  I think in future I'll just use 3 of my polymer clay "button blooms" flower beads per necklace, but thought this was quite fun!  The apple-green memory wire is 4-strands thick, adorned with an amethyst-coloured Swarovski crystal (the birthstone for February), and is 14" long with a 2.5" long extension chain.  This one will grow with her :D

Happy Birthday Rebecca!

Like this one?  Check out this Li'l Bouquet "princess" necklace I made a couple years ago...
http://www.subtledetails.blogspot.ca/2012/08/like-calming-sigh-of-relief.html

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

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

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!

about the artist

A while ago I was spending some time over in my Etsy store. Feeling a little more verbose and deciding that a change was needed, I wrote a new autobiography. I'm pretty happy with this new, more personal and heartfelt description of my life and work and decided to share it with you here today:

"Hi, I'm Karen Pasieka, designer and polymer clay artisan.

I started my business, Subtle Details, in 2007, when I was laid off from a position I held in an architecture firm for over 4 years. That had been my dream, my training, since I was only 13 years old.
I had always been a creative child, experimenting with various materials and craft. From crochet, to paper, to clay, I rotated from one to the next and back again, whatever suited my fancy on the day. But when first introduced to the concept of architecture (and being an architect), it seemed real to me, something concrete that I could say: "when I grow up, I want to be an Architect". I loved my education, and the goal of being an architect gave me focus, but the reality of the profession quickly tarnished the dream. It took me a long time to admit to myself that the dream that I had so long cherished was not the right fit for me, but once this fact had become clear, the answer was easy....craft!

The one medium that I always returned to was polymer clay. I experimented with and perfected my techniques year-after-year, creating Christmas tree ornaments for family and friends. Then as my friends got older, I was inspired to create the bride and groom ornaments (cake toppers) which I now affectionately call Li'l Newlyweds. This was a wonderfully intricate challenge that I was more than happy to take on. My jewelry line, Li'l Bouquet, was inspired by the delicately sculpted florals of the bridal bouquets from the cake toppers. Now my Li’l Bouquet designs are an ever evolving blend of soft feminine florals, Swarovski crystals, sterling silver, and base metals. The latest of my products, Li'l Art framed sculpture, was developed as a project that I could use to teach my students, as I have started running polymer clay classes. I love making these little tile scenes because the potential for themes are endless!

Whew! There you have it, my crafting history in a nutshell!

I hope my designs bring you joy, as they do for me everyday!"


...I would only add to this that, being a significant and most dear part of my life, my son Evan came into this world on October 28th, 2010. He is both the most precious and most demanding piece of the pie that is my life! With him, work is challenging, without him, life would be meaningless.

He is also the reason why I beg for patience from you if I appear to be absent from my work at times. :-D



- Karen Pasieka
polymer clay artisan, entrepreneur, mom

whew! another busy weekend...

not this past weekend, but the one that preceded it. I had so much on the go two weekends ago that I needed a full week to recover, which is why this post is being made today and not last Monday.

Where to start? In a nutshell, Friday was packing, Saturday was Mom-to-Mom sale shopping, Evan's baptism and celebratory dinner, AND loading of the car, and finally, Sunday was The Original Wedding Soiree.

The Original Wedding Soiree, Subtle Detail's first bridal show since January of 2009.

You always meet the nicest of people at these events!

Among them are Jennifer Arp of Cakeaholic, Stephanie Casino of The Press Fine Stationery, and Shiri Shapiro of Focus Studios. I "tasted" many of Jennifer's mouth-watering mocha-hazelnut sample cupcakes through the day...that's probably what inspired me to make some of my own cupcakes yesterday, though nowhere near as good (no offence Betty Crocker).

Shiri was kind enough to photograph my booth.

She captured in a few seconds what I can never get in hours of snapshots with my little camera.

The photos in this post are hers

(with exception to one, my last).

I've added all three to my links page on my website:

www.subtledetails.ca

Someone who's been on my links page since it's inception, my own friend and cake designer Julie Tan-Ramos of Yummy In the Tummy Cakes. Julie kindly lent me one of her displays for my Li'l Newlyweds cake toppers. I just love the delicate pearlized white flowers and leafy scroll on this canary yellow 4-tier cake! I've been wanting the opportunity to display my toppers on a real cake for some time (please, if you're one of my customers and you're reading this, SEND ME YOUR PICTURES, I'd love to see them!), and this did not

disappoint. My "Simply Beautiful" sample Li'l Newlyweds settled in nicely amongst the fondant flora, and the yellow complimented the purple roses perfectly.

There's so much more that I could mention, like a chance encounter, show prep. and show setup agrivation, but this post feels like it's getting a bit long in the tooth (where did that phrase come from anyways? *shrug*)...another post, another day...

An eventful weekend to be sure.

The vendors mentioned in this post can be found at the following:

www.cakeaholic.ca

www.the-presse.com

www.focusstudios.ca

www.yummyinthetummycakes.com